Ferrari wasted time with Kimi Raikkonen and should have taken a “risk” by promoting Charles Leclerc two years ago, according to ex-Formula 1 winniജng team bosꦯs Flavio Briatore.

Leclerc turned in a stel🅘lar first campaign with Ferrari last year and claimed two victories on his way to outperforming four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel at the first attempt.

Ferrari had the option to promote its protege Leclerc straight after he had won back-to-back GP3 and Formula 2 titles in 2018, but instead chose to retain Raikkonen’s deal by a further year so that🎀 Leclerc could make his F1 debut with Sauber.

But Briator♉e, who oversaw title-winning campaigns at Benetton and Renault, feelܫs Ferrari ended up wasting a year by “going nowhere” with Raikkonen.

Speaking to the official Formula 1 podcast, Beyond the Grid, Briatore said: ”Leclerc is young. [He has] big 💖bal🥃ls, because he's demonstrating [that].

"I believe if I was at Ferrari, I would have put Leclerc already two years ago to replace Raikko🔯nen, because, you know, with Raikkonen you are going nowhere.

"You🐟'll never win nothing with him. You know at the time I would take the risk and put Leclerc [in the car]. Leclerc is a really, really strong guy.”

Briatore also believes that reigning 🤪world champion Lewis Hamilton has had it too easy in recent seasons due to a lack of challengers, unlike Michael Schumacher, who the Bཧriton could move level with on seven world championships as early as this year.

"Michael was fighting with the big guys: like [Ayrton] Senna,” Briatore explained. “You need to recognise♐ that when Michael arrived, the [competition] was tough: you are talking about Nigel Mansell, you are talking about Senna.

"Now, is less, the competition. You have two drivers, three d♏rivers....the competition is less than before. For Hamilton, again, nobody put the pressure on to him - he can walk away.”

"It is the same for everybody. Whenꦛ Schumacher, somebody get close, he put a mistake, Fernando [Alonso] he put a mistake. Everybody put the mistake꧙.

“If he's driving𒁃 like a taxi driver and is winning everything it's because he's👍 a super driver, it's fantastic. Hamilton is one of two star drivers in F1: it's Hamilton and Verstappen.

"Leclerc is not recog♔nisable now," Briatore added. ”Verstappen for me is the more incredible driver. He is fantastic in th🍌e way he is overtaking, the way he is a gladiator.”